Chapter 1410: Gathering

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Han Li launched the shimmering shark fin from his hand into the air, then exhaled a stream of green mist and swallowed it whole.

For the following period, Han Li took out his damaged Azure Bamboo Cloud Swarm Swords and began to re-forge them one by one, slowly restoring their spiritual essence.

A year later, in the low-altitude skies above an unnamed mountain range in the Barren Realm, a faint streak of green light shimmered in and out of view as it flew onward.

Within the escaping light, a calm-faced young man, with his hands clasped behind his back, was none other than Han Li himself, who had left Tu Shan's hiding place several months prior.

As soon as he finished repairing his flying swords, he didn't linger at Tu Shan's location at all; instead, he immediately controlled his escape light and headed straight for this place.

Being alone, Han Li was exceptionally cautious throughout his journey. Although he traveled for a full six months, he arrived safely.

This unnamed mountain range appeared somewhat unusual.

Both on the mountains and in the valleys, all the trees seemed quite stunted, resembling slightly taller bushes. And if one flew a bit lower, a dense wave of humidity would strongly envelop them.

The low-lying areas of this mountain range were unexpectedly dotted with lakes of varying sizes. The largest spanned thousands of miles, while the smallest were merely a small area, like puddles.

However, Han Li dared not be too careless when flying over these lakes.

Who knew if powerful ancient beasts or strange tribes were hiding within these lakes?

Since entering this mountain range, he had successively killed over a dozen exotic beasts that had actively lunged at his escape light. One of them, a giant lake beast resembling an eel, was almost equivalent to a Deity Transformation stage existence. Its extremely potent water-element divine abilities had given him quite a bit of trouble.

After flying for another short half-day, the terrain ahead changed, revealing two straight mountain peaks, each about a thousand *zhang* tall.

Upon seeing the two peaks, Han Li's eyes lit up, and a hint of joy appeared on his face.

In terms of size, these two small mountains were naturally unremarkable. However, one of them was exceptionally silvery-white, with most of its peak covered in a layer of crystalline ice and snow, making the vicinity incredibly cold.

The other peak, however, was a brilliant purple, covered in trees resembling maple trees, their leaves all glowing with an eerie violet light.

The two peaks were only about ten *li* apart. Yet, apart from the strange purple trees and ice/snow, their appearance and terrain were remarkably similar; not identical, but eighty to ninety percent alike.

“Since these two peaks actually exist here, it seems their words weren't false after all.”

Han Li muttered to himself, then his escape light flickered, and he headed straight for the ice mountain.

As soon as he approached the mountain, a fierce gust of wind howled, so bone-chilling it felt like a knife cutting into him.

Han Li's expression shifted, but a layer of green light suddenly emerged from his body, and he continued to shoot forward as if unimpeded.

Before he could fully plunge into the mountain, two startling streaks of light suddenly shot out from the thickest part of the ice and snow on the peak. After a few flashes, they appeared about thirty *zhang* away from Han Li.

Han Li's escape light dispersed in surprise, and his figure emerged amidst the shimmering spiritual light.

“Haha, so it's Fellow Daoist Han! I knew that with your divine abilities, a simple task like that would be no problem at all.” The light in front also converged, revealing two men. One of them immediately recognized Han Li and said with a beaming smile.

This person had a pale face and white hair, appearing to be in his fifties or sixties. He was precisely the old man surnamed Liu whom Han Li had met in the Flying Spirit Hall on his first day in Skyreach City.

Next to him was a sickly-looking scholar, who also had an exceptionally gentle demeanor.

“So it's Brother Liu and Brother Ouyang. Haven't you two arrived even earlier than I did? It seems your tasks were much smoother than mine.” Han Li chuckled lightly, making no mention of how he almost lost his life among the Wood Spirits.

“How can our tasks compare to Fellow Daoist Han's? This old man merely followed a few Golden Guard Lords to sweep through some small strongholds of foreign tribes. As long as one is careful, there isn't much risk.” The old man surnamed Liu said, shaking his head repeatedly.

“Besides the two of you, have any other fellow daoists arrived?” Han Li smiled faintly, then suddenly changed the topic.

“Of course. We need quite a few people for this expedition. Although we anticipated that nearly half of our fellow daoists might not make it, the number of people who have arrived now is almost sufficient. I'll take Brother Han to meet them.” The old man surnamed Liu said with a smile.

“Then I shall trouble you, fellow daoist.” Han Li cupped his fist, showing no objection.

Immediately, guided by the two men, Han Li transformed into a streak of green light and flew towards the ice mountain.

However, after flying only a short distance, the old man leading the way took out a jade token from his robes and waved it at the empty space in front of him.

Immediately, a burst of white light shot out from the token. Wherever it passed, white lotuses emerged, shimmering with spiritual radiance.

The old man surnamed Liu urged his escape light forward and was the first to enter the white lotuses, vanishing in a flash. Han Li's eyes flickered, and he and the scholar followed closely behind.

It turned out that an illusion array had been set up here, which he hadn't noticed at first glance. It seemed quite mysterious! This way, ordinary ancient beasts passing nearby truly wouldn't be able to detect any activity on the mountain. After their escape lights flickered a few times, the three of them circled above a pristine white area on the mountaintop and landed in front of a crystalline ice pavilion.

Nearby were a small cluster of ice houses of various designs. Inside the pavilion, a man and two women were sitting, chatting. As soon as the three appeared, their gazes instantly shifted, all falling upon Han Li.

The man was a burly, gray-clad fellow with a full beard and a heroic bearing.

Of the women, one was in her forties, with an ordinary face, wearing a green dress. The other appeared extremely young, dressed in a jade-green robe and wearing a veil.

Upon seeing the veiled woman, Han Li was slightly taken aback and let out a soft exclamation.

“Fairy Ying, I didn't expect you to be invited as well. What a coincidence.” Han Li greeted the woman with surprise.

“I actually knew Fellow Daoist would come here. I am one of the initiators of this matter.” The veiled woman gave Han Li a sweet smile.

This woman was none other than Fairy Ying, who had invited Han Li to undertake a mission together during the Ascended Cultivators' gathering. “An initiator? That truly came as a surprise to me.” Han Li chuckled.

Although she wasn't among those who invited him at the time, he figured she wouldn't have a reason to deceive him about this, so it should be true.

As for the people who spearheaded gathering them for this matter, he truly didn't pay much attention to them.

Han Li's gaze shifted, sweeping over the other two individuals.

These two also had somewhat familiar faces; they seemed to have appeared at the Ascended Cultivators' gathering as well, though he hadn't interacted with them much.

All three of them had cultivation levels above the mid-stage Deity Transformation, especially the woman, who appeared to be in the late-stage Deity Transformation.

Thus, Han Li also cupped his fist slightly towards the other two.

The burly man and the woman did not dare to neglect Han Li and returned the greeting.

The veiled woman then invited Han Li to sit in the pavilion as well. After a brief consideration, Han Li shook his head with a smile: “I sustained some minor injuries during this mission, and expended some magic power from traveling day and night. I'd better recover first. If I recall correctly, there's still half a month until the agreed departure time.”

“Haha, that was our oversight. Brother Han, having traveled all this way, naturally needs to rest first. Among these houses, only the leftmost few are still unoccupied, so feel free to choose any one. Of course, if you're not satisfied, you can always use your spells to build another one.” The old man surnamed Liu stroked his beard and said kindly.

“Then I won't stand on ceremony.” Han Li gave a low chuckle and said nothing more. After bidding farewell to the others, he calmly walked directly towards one of the ice houses. After a few flashes, he disappeared into the house.

The people near the pavilion watched Han Li's receding figure, and a silence fell upon them for a moment.

“Brother Han is in such a hurry to meditate and recuperate, he hasn't suffered serious injuries, has he?” The woman frowned slightly and slowly broke the silence.

“Probably not! Fellow Daoist Han's complexion looks fine; perhaps he simply expended some magic power.” The grey-robed man next to her shook his head.

“That's not necessarily true. If Fellow Daoist Han is proficient in some secret art for concealing his aura, it would be normal for us not to notice. But then again, the fact that he arrived here on time already shows he's extraordinary. Even if he has a minor ailment, I believe it won't affect our plans for this expedition. Didn't Fellow Daoist Yuan and Master Jingyuan, who arrived earlier, also go straight into their rooms to rest quietly?” Fairy Ying, however, had considerable confidence in Han Li and said calmly.

“Fairy Ying speaks reasonably! Although Fellow Daoist Han is only a mid-stage Deity Transformation cultivator, based on my estimation, his divine abilities are enough to rank among the top three of all the fellow daoists who have arrived.” The sickly-looking scholar said with a smile.

“Fellow Daoist Ouyang, aren't you exaggerating a bit? Fellow Daoist Han is only a mid-stage Deity Transformation cultivator; this old woman wouldn't be mistaken about that.” The woman was stunned to hear this and said, somewhat disbelievingly.

“Sister Zhao Da, you've been busy with arduous cultivation in Skyreach City all these years and rarely attended our gatherings, so it's not surprising you don't know about Brother Han. Fellow Daoist Han has repeatedly slain and captured foreign tribesmen of the same cultivation level. Among us newly ascended cultivators, his reputation is quite significant. In particular, a divine ability he cultivates has a great restraining effect against the Shadow Tribe. This is also the main reason why we so strongly invited him.” The veiled woman said unhurriedly.

“Fellow Daoist Ying means to use him specifically to deal with those Shadow Worm Beasts?” The woman seemed to grasp the idea somewhat.

“Precisely, that's what we mean. Otherwise, those Shadow Worm Beasts are quite troublesome. If we were to greatly deplete our magic power because of them and scare away our true target for this expedition, that would be terrible.” The old man surnamed Liu also explained with a smile.

The woman surnamed Zhao nodded upon hearing this and said nothing more.

Thus, these few people sat in the pavilion, chatting idly about various things. Meanwhile, Han Li had already sat down cross-legged in an ice house, his eyes tightly closed, remaining completely still.